Kuwait- PUIC conf. kicks off in Rabat

(MENAFN - Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) RABAT, March 13 (KUNA) -- The 14th conference of the Parliamentary Union of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation's Member States (PUIC) commenced in the Moroccan capital on Wednesday.

Muslim nations are interested in achieving security, stability, development and prosperity, Speaker of the Moroccan Parliament Al-Habibi El-Malki said in at the inaugural speech of the conference.

Differences, disputes and crises should be resolved by reason and wisdom based on the mutual interests, he said.

El-Malki suggested that the main challenge facing the Muslim World was providing high quality education for achieving social progress and openness.

He called for promoting democracy and building confidence with Muslim nations through respecting human rights and boosting the state institutions.

For his part, Kuwait' National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim urged Muslim countries to open up to the whole world.

Muslim states need to open up, interact and talk with regional and international partners for the benefit of Muslim causes, Al-Ghanim said in a speech at the PUIC conference read out on his behalf by Kuwaiti lawmaker Safaa Al-Hashim.

"We do not live alone in the world. We have our own issues and the world countries have theirs, but surely there are issues of mutual concern," he said, noting that most of the Muslim causes are international by nature.

Al-Ghanim pointed out that the effective cooperation with other world countries had helped Muslim states to include two articles related to Jerusalem and Rohingya minority persecution at the final communique of the recent Inter-Parliamentary Union meeting.

"Had we could pass the articles, if we (Muslim countries) acted alone?" he wondered.

He expressed full confidence in the Muslim states and institutions ability to successfully overcoming current challenges.

Al-Ghanim said this conference was a chance to tackle decades-long problems such as the situation of the three Emirati islands, Kashmir, the prosecuted Muslim minorities worldwide and the new crises including that of Rohingya, Yemen, Syria, etc.

Delegates from legislatures of 54 member states and representatives of nearly two dozens of regional and international organizations are partaking in the PUIC conference.

The Tehran-based PUIC was launched on 17 June 1999 to spread the Islamic values; enhance the implementation of the Islamic principle of consultation in all OIC members; provide a framework for comprehensive and fruitful cooperation and coordination among parliaments of OIC members in international fora and organizations. (end) jn.ibi